Vandals ruin sports fields
Joy-riders are ripping up pitches and leaving stolen cars on site
Joy-riding car thieves and motorbike riders have vandalised more than 20 South Auckland parks over the past three months.
Broken barrier fences, skid marks and ripped up turf are putting a hold on sports games across South Auckland. Sports teams are losing valuable game time and morale.
Rongomai Park in Otara is one of the most recent to be hit.
House Park in Mangere has been vandalised twice and is now closed because of the damage.
Walter Massey Park in Mangere has also been hit.
Mangere East Rugby League Club teams normally train at House Park while Walter Massey Park is the club’s home ground on game days.
Stolen cars have been left on site at some parks.
Mangere-Otahuhu Local Board chair Lydia Sosene says it’s an ‘‘incredibly frustrating’’ situation.
‘‘Thousands of ratepayers’ dollars have been spent upgrading and maintaining these grounds and now we have to spend more to fix them - it is incredibly frustrating that the behaviour of a few ruins it for others,’’ Sosene says.
‘‘Even more frustrating than the cost is that when this happens, the parks can be out action for a number of weeks – which has a big impact on sport competitions and other recreation activities.’’
Mangere East Rugby League Club chairman Tasha Tasmania says the impact on club morale and the community is most concerning.
‘‘We’ve basically lost home ground advantage because the ground is closed - that’s a big problem for us because as any team knows, being able to play at home is a huge confidence booster.’’
The club has had